


Start of Something Good

by lost_riddles



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Artist Keith (Voltron), Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Angst, Idiots in Love, Internal Conflict, Keith & Shiro (Voltron) are Adoptive Siblings, Keith (Voltron) Has Anxiety, Keith and Romelle are best friends, Keith has family troubles, Lance and Rachel are twins, Lance has a hard time dealing with his bisexuality, M/M, Miscommunication, Musician Lance (Voltron), Mutual Pining, Rich Keith (Voltron), Singer Lance, Slow Burn, a lot of texting, but they also have student jobs, dating app, they're in college
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-12
Updated: 2019-01-03
Packaged: 2019-09-17 01:52:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 20,795
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16965465
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lost_riddles/pseuds/lost_riddles
Summary: In which Lance loves his family but has to learn to love himself just as much.In which Keith is a rich boy trying to please others, forgetting what he wants himself.In which they met through a dating app where Lance normally only match girls and Keith can't flirt.





	1. As You Are

**Author's Note:**

> Hello!  
> This is going to be a slow burn like.. really, but it's necessary for them to learn to be themself and be good for each other.  
> English is not my first language so if you notice some mistakes, don't hesitate to let me know!  
> Hope you'll like it!

Swipe right, then left, then right twice, then left again, then.. Lance stopes, his thumb a few millimeters above his screen. The picture of a guy looks back at him, and he hesitates until he hears footsteps in the corridor of his family house. He swipes left hurriedly and straightens up on the couch, only to see his mom coming in the room.

"Lance, weren't you supposed to meet up with Hunk and Pidge?" She asks with a look of exasperation.

He takes a look at the time on his phone et swears, standing up so fast that he almost falls, stars dancing in front of his eyes.

"Oh yeah, I guess I'm late.. Again. Bye!"

He kisses her on her cheek and rushes outside. Then, he realizes he forgot his keys, and opens the door to find his mom right in front of him, keys in hand. He smiles sheepishly and takes them. As he leaves, running, he hears the door slamming.

 

When Lance finally arrives in the shopping center, he walks as fast as he can to their usual booth. The three of them were used to come in this ice cream shop, right in front of the electronic shop where Pidge was working when she didn't have classes. Lance slides next to her after placing his order, an unnatural smile on his face as he tries to make himself as small as possible.

"You know you were supposed to be here like.. 20 minutes ago, right? I need to go back to work in 10." Pidge tells him before taking a sip of the remaining of her milkshake.

"Yeah, I.. Ugh, got taken in something." Lance answers, looking at Hunk as to silently asking for his help. The look on his best friend's face tells him he's on his own, and he looks back at Pidge, waiting for his punishment.

"Okay.." Lance is surprised that she's giving up that easily. "But you're paying." She adds with a smirk.

"Ugh, deal."

The waiter comes with his ice cream, putting it in front of him with a smile. He thanks her, and when she's away enough not to hear him, he turns to Hunk.

"Wow, she's too hot to work in a place that cold. Is she new?"

"Yep, she arrived three days ago. I trained her, she's great. Please don't try to date her."

"Aw, so you like her? Okay buddy, you saw her first."

"No, I don't! But I work with her so it would be awkward when one of you would dump the other."

Pidge is chuckling next to him, and Lance looks at her, curious.

"You know something I don't?"

"When she brought his ice cream, she touched his arm and he was crazy red."

"I just hadn't see her coming! Anyway, Lance, you already have a lot of la.. Choices. You can pass on this one."

"Ugh, okay."

They were back on eating and drinking when Lance's phone lights up, announcing a new match from his dating app. He takes it in his hand, unlocking it to see who it is, and a big smile forms on his face when he sees it's that pretty blonde he liked earlier, Luxia. He immediately sends her a message.

> **Lance**  
>  _Hey beautiful! Are you named Luxia because you're the light of my life?_

He locks his phone again, screen facing the table, anxious to see an answer, or worst, nothing coming. You could thing he was used to this by now, but he was always stressed by the thought that they wouldn't answer to him, or that they would think he's stupid.

"Lance..? Was that.. A new one?" Pidge asks, because obviously, she would have watched his phone screen while he was tapping. Privacy meant nothing to his friend, and she and Hunk knew everything about Lance's love life anyway. But generally, he preferred to wait until he had a good feeling with the girl to tell them about her, just in case. He didn't want his surname to change from Loverboy Lance to Loserboy Lance.

"So what? I need to search if I want to find the perfect future mrs McClain."

"Or.." Hunk starts, but Lance stops him.

"Or nothing."

To show his friend the conversation is over, he takes his phone back in hands, checking if Luxia answered him. He's pleased to see that she did.

> **Luxia**  
>  _Hi! No, it's my grandma's name actually._

He looks at his phone, perplexed. Is she making fun of him? Does she think he's dumb? Because it's not possible that she's so not used to flirting to not get what he meant. He hears Pidge snort, and give her a black look.

"Stop reading my conversations."

"Your conversation with a girl named after her grandma, who doesn't get flirting or is trying to nicely show you she's not interested."

"If she wasn't interested, she wouldn't have answered."

Lance hides his phone screen with one of his hand, tapping with the other one. It's not easy, but he manages. He's getting used to it, with a house full of curious brothers and sisters and two best friends like Hunk and Pidge.

> **Lance**  
>  _You must have a close family then! It's so cool, family is really important to me._

He locks his phone again and notices that his friends stopped talking, both of them looking at him expectingly.

"What?" He asks, genuinely curious.

"Nothing!" Hunk immediately says, playing with what's left of his ice cream with his spoon, looking anywhere but at Lance and Pidge.

"Anyway, I need to go back to work, see you later!" Pidge says, extracting herself from the booth and almost running to the electronic shop. Lance sends a questioning look at Hunk, who shrugs.

"What? She does have to work. And you do you, really. If you're not ready to.. Ugh.. Whatever. Now that Pidge's gone, tell me about this new girl! I won't judge, I promise."

In other circonstances, Lance could have fight, forcing Hunk to speak his mind, but he has a pretty good idea of what's on his friend's mind, and he's sure it's about something he definitely doesn't want to talk about. And he's almost certain his friends talked about just that before he arrived. So he smiles to Hunk, taking his phone once again to show him Luxia's picture. But first, he sees she answered again. 

> **Luxia**  
>  _Haha not really, I think they named me after her so she's flattered and gives us more money that to my aunt, uncle and cousins when she dies._

Lance laughs, already loving her humor. Or at least, he's pretty sure she's not seriously someone who only care about money. And even if she was serious, it would be her parents, not her. He can see she's a great girl, it's obvious. He puts her picture on his screen and shows it to Hunk.

"Oh yeah, she's totally your type." Hunk comments, nodding.

"Yeah, she's so beautiful, and super funny, and—"

"And probably the future mrs McClain?"

"Yes, that." Lance smiles at the picture, then closes it to answer to Luxia.

> **Lance**  
>  _You're as funny as you're pretty, it's crazy. Could I buy you coffee or something so you can tell me all about it in person?_

He waits, anxiously, but the answer doesn't come. It's okay though, she might be busy, just because he can answer right away doesn't mean everyone is the same. Maybe she's a bit shy, or looking through her schedule or something. He's sure everything's fine.

 

* * *

 

Half asleep, Keith can vaguely hear his phone buzzing from across the room, probably where he abandoned it during the night. He groans slightly, but doesn't find in himself to move. He's comfy, warmed against the naked body pressed to his side. The phone finally stops buzzing, but he can't go back to sleep. His curtainsaren't completely closed, and the light is bothering him. Then, his phone starts buzzing again, and he groans, loudly this time.

He extracts himself from the blanket, puts on some clothes, and when a third call starts, he looks for his phone, finding it on the ground. He sees a phone call from his step father and feel his stomach knots. There's also several missed calls from Romelle, his best friend. A new call starts, and Keith feels the panic rising in himself.

"Hello?" He asks, whispering not to wake up his.. guest.

"Keith! Finally! What the heck were you.. No, don't tell me, we don't have time for that. Your mom and step father are back."

"What?!" Keith yells, feeling his sight getting blurred because of the panic, stronger than ever.

"Yeah, he invited me for dinner, and I figured that you—"

"I got to go, thanks Romelle."

Then, he hangs up, feeling a bit guilty to do that to his oldest friend, but knowing that she would understand and forgive him, not like his mom and step father if they find a stranger, a boy, in their son's bed. They were supposed to be gone for the weekend, but leave it to them to spoil everything.

Keith brutally shakes his 'friend' on the shoulder to wake him up. The other boy groans and tries to hide under the blanket, but Keith takes it away.

"Rolo! Hey, wake up!"

"Ugh, why are you so cruel with me? I thought we were friends, more than that, even." Rolo whines, putting his arm on his eyes to try and protect himself from the light when Keith opens the curtains.

"Parents are on their way." Keith simply answers, knowing that Rolo will understand.

And he does. He jumps from the bed, swearing, catching his clothes all around Keith's bedroom. Both of them freeze when they hear the front door of the house opening. They look at each other, panic in their eyes, and Rolo runs to the window. Keith runs after him, catching his arm to prevent him to do something stupid like jump when they're on the second floor.

"No way you're ending up as an omelet in my garden." He tells him, holding his arm to take him away from the window.

"You have a better idea?" Rolo asks.

"Hide in my closet, I'll find something to get you out, but if I don't go down now they'll come here." Keith answers, opening his closet and moving things to make room for his friend with benefit.

"Yeah, hide me in your closet, how ironic." Rolo teases him, throwing his clothes in the closet before crouching to get in.

"Shut up." Keith says, closing the closet to hurry downstairs.

When he arrives in the living room, Keith understands that he could have taken his time instead of rushing to his mom and step father. His mom is half asleep on the couch, luggage all around her, still wearing her coat and shoes, and his step father in nowhere to be seen, but Keith can hear him in the kitchen, probably making drinks for the both of them. Keith hopes hot drinks, and not alcohol.

"Hey, mom. Did it not go well? You were supposed to come back tonight, right?" He asks her like he doesn't know, when he definitely does, but doesn't want to sound like he's not happy they're back. He sits next to her, not seeing his step father coming in the room, so he jumps slightly when he answers for Keith's mom.

"And you were supposed to answer my call, Keith. Looks like we're both disappointed."

Keith turns around to look at his mom's husband, coming in with two cups of tea. He hands one to his wife, and keeps the second one in his hand while he sits on the other couch. Keith wasn't expecting to be offered one, but he still rolls his eyes.

"I didn't say it like that. I was just wondering, that's all, sorry for being interested in your lives, I know you can't understand that, as you only care about yourself." Keith snaps, trying to stop his need to punch the man in front of him. It didn't even take two minutes before they're at each other throat, and it's not a surprise.

"Keith, watch your words." His mom tells him, firmly, but with softness in her eyes, and he feels his anger melting. Okay, for her, he can do that. For her, he can tolerate him.

"Sorry." He almost adds 'mom', but doesn't want to repeat another apology to his step dad, so he remains silent. They probably both know what he meant, but they look too tired to argue.

"It's okay, sweetie. The hotel was out of power so we came back." She explains, playfully running her hand in Keith's hair, already a mess, worst after that. He groans, and she laughs, almost splitting her tea all over the couch.

"I'm going to rest for a bit. Don't make noice." His step father says while standing up before leaving the room.

"I think I'll go too, need to be in shape for tonight, leave it to your step dad to host a party after a crappy night." She tells him, fondness in her eyes and voice, and Keith feels bad for not liking the man who makes his mom happy. He nods.

"Okay. I'll clean, don't worry about that."

"Thanks."

She runs her hand in Keith's hair once again before standing up, and he simply huff, not finding in himself to reject her when she's already going away from him.

While he hears her in the stairs, he rapidly cleans the tea cups. Then, he goes back upstairs, taking a few seconds in front of his mom and step father's room to make sure there's not noice in it, even if they're probably not asleep yet. He breathes a sigh of relief and goes back to his room to free Rolo from his closet.

He locks the bedroom's door behind him and wait a few seconds in case someone would want to see him or something, but they must be really tired because he can't hear a thing. So he walks to his closet and opens it, smiling at Rolo's sleeping form against one of his coats. Suddenly, he feels really annoyed by his mom and step father early return, because without that, he could still be curled against Rolo in his bed, under a warm blanket, and it's pissing him off. Still, he kneels down, gently shaking Rolo awake.

"Oh, you're back! Are they still here?"

"Yeah, they're napping. You need to get out of here before they wake up."

Rolo pouts, but still takes the hand Keith is offering him to help him on his feet. He finishs dressing himself up, and follows Keith outside his room.

"Call me when you have time, okay? And put salt in your step father's coffee for me, will you?" Rolo asks Keith with that smile that makes Keith nods immediately, without a second thought. Of course, he won't, the guy already hates him enough without him doing anything but living.

"Sure." Keith opens the door to let Rolo out, leaning in to kiss him before he goes.

He hurriedly pulls away when he hears a door opening in the house, and pushes Rolo outside to close the door behind him, his heart beating rapidly in his chest. This can't be happening. He doesn't even dare to look, to acknowledge who saw him, to speak to then, to try and pretend he's someone he's not.

"Keith? Who was that?"

His mom. He doesn't know if he's relieve or if he feels worst. He's used to disappoint his step father, but he couldn't bear the thought of his mom thinking the same about him. She doesn't sound mad though, or cold, just.. Scared? He can understand that, he's terrified.

"Uh, it was.. It.. I.. I have to go, I'll be back for the party." He mumbles, opening the door again to run away.

"Keith, wait!" She calls, but he's already slamming the door. His feet are still bare, and he left his phone in his room, but he couldn't care less.

 

* * *

 

Playing on his guitar, Lance doesn't even flinch when his bedroom's door suddenly opens without a warning, letting in his twin sister, Rachel. He smiles at her to let her know she's been noticed, but still finishs his song. He doesn't like stopping in the middle of something, and his family knows that, so Rachel simply walks to Lance's bed and sits next to him, waiting for him to be done. As soon as the last note ends, she claps her hands a few seconds.

"It was so beautiful, Lance! It's a good point, or I'd have to kill you, you've been playing for hours." Rachel comments, not as an accusation, but just as a fact. Even if she's exaggerating the time he spends on his music, it's true that it's been a long time. He just can't get it right, and it annoys him so much that he has to try until someone tells him to stop.

"Yeah, sorry, it's for the coffee shop, the others are tired of always hearing the same songs."

"Oh, i can't imagine!" She teases him, and the both of them laugh.

Of course, Lance knows she's not tired of hearing him play, his family had always been supportive of his passion, and his twin is his biggest fan. She often comes at the coffee shop to cheer for him when she knows he'll play and sing, even if he generally plays randomly and not for long.

Lance's phone buzzes, his screen lighting to announce a 'New message from Luxia', and he smiles, the excitement tying his stomach, until he sees another hand catching his phone. He tries to fight his sister, but she already has the phone, holding it close to her chest with both hands to prevent him to take it back.

"Luxia, hm? Never heard of her."

"We just met, she's not that important yet. Now give it back!"

Lance tries to attack his sister to take his phone by force, but she rolls on her side, away from him, so much that she ends up on the ground, falling from the bed.

"Aoutch, shit."

"You okay?" Lance holds her a hand out to help her back on the bed, but she refuses it, probably fearing that he would try and take the phone while she sits. She really does know him like the back of her hand, it's not by happenstance that their family always say they share a brain.

Rachel sits on the floor, her brother's phone tightly presses in her hands, and gives him a questioning look, like he was going to give her what she wants without her having to fight for it. Obviously, he'll tell her everything, but he doesn't want to give her the impression it's easy, she has to earn it.

"So.. Do you want me to give you your phone back after you explained who Luxia is, or do you want me to answer for you while you remain silent?" She asks, a mocking smile on her face. Just like that, she knows she won, and so does Lance.

"No! If this has to go wrong, I'd prefer to fuck it myself, thank you very much."

Rachel unlocks the phone, and Lance tries to reach for it, panicking.

"Rach, what are you doing?!"

"Relax, Lance, i just want to see her pictures." She takes the phone away from him and looks through the pictures, nodding with appreciation, and Lance feels proud that his sister approuve. "She's not the one." Wait.. what?

"What?! Why would you say that? You just nod! You make no sense."

"I nodded because I'm not surprised. But you never stay with girls like that, she looks like she never had fun in her life."

"That's not true! She's really funny, actually!"

He takes the phone from Rachel's hands, as she's not paying attention anymore, and takes the opportunity to read the new message from Luxia.

> **Luxia**  
>  _Haha! Sure. But you should come to my place instead!_

"Ha! She wants to see me! She's inviting me at her place!" Lance yells, holding his fist up as a victory sign. Then, he shows the phone to Rachel, remembering that he wanted her to read the messages to understand how funny Luxia was. "Look, beautiful, funny, and interested in me."

Rachel scrolls through the conversation, humming slightly, and Lance is dying to hear her finally admitting that she was wrong.

"You know.. I'm not sure she was kidding. She does look like someone who wants her granny to die to have her money. Maybe she's inviting you over to show you how rich she is for you to eat in her hand. Or maybe she'll kill you and take everything you own." Rachel teases him, but he can see that there's real concern as her smile doesn't quite reach her eyes.

"Aw, don't worry, I'll be fine!" He tries to reassure her, patting her hair with his free hand. She groans and takes back his phone. He sighs, giving up while she looks through his different conversations, but she never open any of them, scrolling hurriedly like she's looking for something. She gives him the phone back, looking at him with exasperation.

"So.. Still no boy, uh? Do you just never match them, or did you modify your settling?"

And of course, it was about that. Just like with Pidge and Hunk earlier. Coming out as bi was difficult, and Lance didn't think his family and friends would be supportive to the point where they would encourage him to date another boy, but here they are, and it's him who's struggling to accept this part of him.

For a moment, Lance can't handle to look at his sister in the eyes, because she just knows him too well, to the point that she almost can read his mind just by looking at him.

"They're not my type. Or I'm not their. So we never match." He lies, still not daring to look at her.

"Ugh. I call bullshit." Rachel answers, taking Lance's phone from his hands one more time. She starts swiping for him, always left.

"Hey! Stop that, I could actually like one of these persons!" He yells, trying to take back the phone. Rachel takes it away, and he abandons, sighing. "You're so annoying."

He waits for what seems like hours for her to find what she's looking for and make her point, but it's really more like 30 seconds.

"Ha! Found one! Look at this boy and tell me you don't think he's hot."

Lance looks and feels himself blushing slightly. Not because he thinks the guy looks particularly good. Well, he does look good, but not to the point it would make him blush just by looking at him. No, he blushes because for the first time, he's really looking, and not just swiping hurriedly as soon as he sees it's a boy.

"He's.. okay, I guess." He simply says, looking away.

"So you definitely think he's hot, knew it!"

Rachel swipes right, and Lance feels his heart speeds up. She wait a few moments, but nothing happen.

"See, told you. No match." Lance points out, not knowing himself if he feels disappointed or relieved. The truth is: this guy is the first one to ever receives a like from Lance, and maybe, just maybe, Lance would have been excited to have a like back.

"Maybe he hasn't see your profile yet! Let me know if you match later, okay? I'm sure you have no idea how to flirt with guys, I can teach you." Rachel offers, putting Lance's phone on his blanket, between the both of them.

"Sure."

Lance smiles at her, and he knows she gets that he's grateful she cares so much.

"So, is this new song ready? Do you want me to start searching for video ideas?"

Rachel always wanted to be a director, and when Lance finished his first song years ago, she took the family's camera to film a music video for it, that they posted on youtube. The views were rather good, and they had so much fun that they kept doing it, gaining more and more views each time. It's not enough for Lance to be recognized or anything, but it still boosts his ego.

"No, i don't really know where I'm going for now, but maybe Luxia will inspire me." He winks at Rachel, back in his element. She laughs, and he joins her, feeling better.

 

* * *

 

While he's walking, people watch him weirdly, like they're afraid he'll attack them or do something crazy like that, but he can't bring himself to care. Yes, he looks like he's homeless, but right now, it would be the same if he was. He has no money, no phone, no shoes, no hope.. Okay, maybe he's being overdramatic, but he feels like his world is crumbling around him.

He walks on a pointed rock and can't stop himself for swearing loudly. A man looks at him harshly, putting his hands on his kid's ears, and Keith rolls his eyes. As if the kid never heard swearing at home or school. He wants to glare at the man, but he's already looking away, pressing his kid to get away from Keith.

He sighs. Every step hurts like hell, but he can't stop, because if he stops there, in the middle of nowhere, he's going to crack, and he forbids himself to do so. He looks around him, and realizes he's not lost. His footsteps brought him to the only person who can really understand him in this world.

 

In front of the door, Keith feels suddenly anxious, afraid that he's not home to welcome him. He doesn't know what he'd do if it's the case. He can't go back, not in this state, not when his mom saw.. Gods's know what. In the end, he welcomes the physical pain happily, because it distracts him.

He knocks on the door, louder than anticipated, as if he's afraid he's not going to hear him otherwise. The seconds he has to wait feel like hours, but eventually, he hears footsteps on the other side of the door, then a key being turned into the keyhole, and the door finally opens.

Keith rushs inside, unable to stay on the landing one more second. He looks up, thinking he's going to see Shiro, but realizes he's in front of another man, looking confusingly at him. He winds up his glasses and takes a step back to make place for Keith, then closes the door behind him like he was expecting him.

"Ugh.. Hi. Is.. Is Shiro here? I'm.."

"Keith?" The man asks, not looking unsure at all, as if he was only asking for form, but already knew.

"Yeah. I'm.."

"I know, ugh, Takashi told me about you, and showed me pictures. I'm.. Adam? Did he.. Told you we're.. Ugh.." The man mumbles and stops, unable to find his words, and it almost makes Keith forget about his troubles.

He hasn't see Shiro for some times, but they texted, so he knows Shiro is seeing someone named Adam, who's probably the guy in front of him. He thinks it's cute how he doesn't dare to tell too much, in case Shiro wouldn't want Keith to know about them for some reason.

"You're his boyfriend." Keith didn't intent it to sound like an affirmation, but it did, and Adam seems to relax immediately, smiling at Keith.

"He is. Hi, Keith, is everything alright? Did I forget a rendezvous?"

Keith and Adam turn in the same time to see Shiro arrives in the room. His smile fades when he locks eyes with Keith. If meeting Adam made Keith forget about his troubles, seeing Shiro makes them hit him more than ever, and he finds himself rushing into Shiro's arms, that immediately lock around him.

"I'm gonna get some pizzas for lunch, I'll be right back." He hears Adam say, then the key being pulled off the keyhole, the door opening and closing, then being locked. He doesn't really know Adam yet, but he's thankful for that. Explaining his situation would already be hard enough without the presence of a stranger.

He pulls away from Shiro, only then realizing some tears on his cheeks. He wipes them away, looking down, unable to look at Shiro now that he's here in front of him. Shiro puts his hand on Keith's shoulder, guiding him to the couch in the living room. He sits, and Keith do the same.

"It's my father, isn't it?" Shiro asks, and Keith can almost hear shame in his tone. He hates it. Whatever Shiro's father do to him, it's in no case Shiro's fault.

"No, it's.. I invited a friend at home when they were away but.. they came back earlier and I tried to make him leave without them seeing him but then I kissed him and my mom arrived and I closed the door but I don't know how much she saw so.. I just.. left." He admits sheepishly.

"If she saw, do you fear they'll talk to you about it? Or that they'll ignore it?" Shiro asks, because he knows better than anyone how the couple can react in front of this kind of situation. "Because they won't kick you out, you know that, right? And even if they do, you always have a place to stay here, okay?"

Keith nods, reassured. Now that he's a bit calmer, he is able to rationalize and see it's not the end of the world, that he always has options, that he's not alone. It was Shiro's choice to leave his father's house, he didn't had to, and there's no reason it would be any different for Keith. Their parents only cared about appearances, and Keith is good with discretion. It would be alright. Maybe he could convince his mom she didn't see what she thought.

"Thank you, Shiro. And.. I don't know. Is it stupid to hope that she could just.. Love me as I am?"

"It's not stupid, but she may need time." Shiro answers honestly, because it wouldn't be like him to try and pretend things are better than they really are.

"They're having a party tonight. I said I would be back but.. I don't know. I don't have a choice to go or not but I was thinking that maybe.. You could come?"

Shiro sighs, not looking at Keith, and the younger boy already knows the answer before he hears it.

"I can't. For you I would, but I'm not on the guests list, and it would only get you in trouble. I can call Romelle for you though."

"Yeah, okay, I understand. I'll ask her to pick me up."

"And I'll lend you a suit. And shoes." Shiro adds, a laugh in his voice, and Keith can help but smile a little.

"Thanks, Shiro."

"It's okay. I'll just text Adam that he can come back and stop pretending to look for pizzas and you can have my phone."

This time, Keith can't stop a laugh, already liking Shiro's boyfriend. He'll like him even more a few minutes after that, when Adam'll come back with five different pizzas because he didn't know what Keith would like.

 

* * *

 

Seated in his car, in front of Luxia's place, Lance can't help but feel impressed. He was expecting an apartment, or at most, a tiny house, not a huge manor. But there he is, facing the biggest house he had ever seen, torn between the undying need to go and meet her, and the fear of making a fool of himself. His phone lights up, announcing a new message, and his heart speeds up in his chest before he sees it's only his sister, to whom he sent a picture of the house when he started freaking out 10 minutes ago.

> **The evil twin**   
>  _My prophecy is becoming real, she definitely wants to show off. Run away before she kidnaps you._
> 
> **Lance**   
>  _Nah, she just wants to impress me because she likes me already._
> 
> **The evil twin**   
>  _If you're so sure, then why are you still texting me and not already in the house?_
> 
> **Lance**   
>  _Shut up. I'm going. Right now. I'm walking to the door while typing this._
> 
> **The evil twin**   
>  _Good luck! It was nice knowing you._
> 
> **Lance**   
>  _I hate you._
> 
> **The evil twin**   
>  _You know you don't. Text me when it's over so I know if you're alive!_
> 
> **Lance**   
>  _Will do._

Lance sighs, still seated in his car despite what he told Rachel. He looks at the time, and straighten when he sees he only has five minutes before it's the time she gave him. He doesn't want to be too early, in case she's not ready, but he certainly doesn't want to be late, even by one minute. He can't have her to think he's not serious. He could still wait for the exact time, but wouldn't it make it obvious he waited?

"Fuck this."

Lance takes his keys off his car and goes out, locking it behind him. He knows it's stupid, he's never nervous, normally. Just because she's rich doesn't mean he has to be, this time. Better rip off the band-aid now and let his natural charm do its job.

He rings at the door, waiting only a few seconds before it opens. Luxia smiles at him, and Lance has to concentrate to keep his mouth close. She looks like an angel, with her blonde hair and baby blue eyes. Sheis elegant without looking like she's trying, simple, but class. She's natural, but sophisticated in the same time.

"Hi, Lance! Are you disappointed?" She asks with a flirting tone, revealing that she already knew the answer, as if she never experienced to be a disappointment to anyone.

"Hello there! Not at all, you're actually even more radiant in person!" He winks at her, proud of his pun. She laughs, and it's music to his ears.

"Well, I'm glade, because I'm not disappointed either. Come inside, I baked a cake. Or more exactly, I asked my cook to do it for me."

She takes his hand to lead him inside, and he follows, not knowing what to answer to that. She has.. A cook? In her house? Just there, waiting for her and her family to want to eat something? He wants to text that to Rachel, but he feels like he already knows what she would say, and he doesn't want to hear it.

If the outside of the manor was impressive, the inside looks even bigger. It's modern, but warm and cosy, and Lance feels at home immediately. The fact that Luxia still hasn't let go of his hand is helping too. She leads him to the living room.

"Make yourself at home, I'll see if it's ready. Are you more a tea or a coffee person?"

"Uh, tea is great." Lance answers, because apparently being a hot chocolate person is not an option, and because he's so excited that he doesn't want to know what a coffee would do to his body right now.

She nods, a soft smile on her face, and turns around, leaving the living room. Lance sits on the couch, comfortably leaning, almost like he would do at home, but taking a pose to look at ease and hot in the same time. He knows what to do, he practiced a lot through the years.

".. So stupid! .. You're really.. Not what I pay you for!.."

Lance straightens a little while he hears Luxia's voice, quickly understanding that she's talking to said cook, and apparently not happy with his work. He wants to go and check if everything is okay, but an intuition tells him to stay where she told him to wait for her, unless he waits to suffer the same fate as this guy.

".. Better hurry up.. Talk to my father.."

He hears her threaten the cook, and he tries to stop feeling bad for the guy. Okay, she's not being very nice to him, but he probably deserved it, she doesn't look like the kind of girl who's mean just for the sake of it. And if Lance wants to date her, he needs to support her, not to take the side of the person she's yelling at. While thinking that, he can almost feel his twin's hand slapping him at the back of the head like she always does when she thinks he's being stupid.

Lance hears Luxia's footsteps coming back in his direction, and he feels lightly stressed, like when he had done something wrong and hear his mom coming to him and can already know he's in trouble. Which is dumb, because he has no reason to feel like that. He's her guest, they're on a first date, there's no reason for her to yell at him. He tries to relax, and when she comes back in the room, smiling at him like an angel, he can feel all his anxiety going away.

"Hey, I missed you." He tells her, and she laughs while sitting next to him on the couch.

"You're cute. I'm sorry for the wait, that old man doesn't really know what he's doing anymore. I think my father only keeps him because he knew him almost his entire life but.. What a wast of money and place."

Lance hates that she thinks it's okay to talk like that about someone else, someone she also probably knew her whole life. He hates that he now knows it's an old man she was talking to like that. He hates that he's now picturing a man who looks like his own grandpa. But no, he doesn't have the right to judge her like that, right? She probably has reasons to says that.

"It's okay, the more we wait, the more time I get to spend with you." He answers with a flirting smile, and she smiles at him, leaning closer, putting her hand on his knee. "So, is this your family house? It's so beautiful."

"Oh, yeah. Officially it still belongs to my grand mother but we managed to exil her to a retirement home. As soon as she dies, it's ours." She explains proudly, looking around like she already own the place, which is probably kind of the case.

At the serious tone of her voice, Lance understands that Rachel was right, and that Luxia wasn't joking in her texts like he thought.. Like he wanted to believe. A part of him wants to try and explain to her that it's wrong, but he can't find in himself to admit he's starting to be disappointed.

"Oh, ugh, that's.. Great?"

She laughs and leans closer to him, so close he can smell her perfume. He wants to close his eyes to appreciate it even more, but he doesn't want her to know he's under her spell already, it's the chase that's interesting anyway.

"It is! We played it really well. But part of that legacy was the cook, he's kind of coming with the house. Even I would do better than him."

"Then maybe next time we should do it ourselves? It would be fun!"

Lance always loved cooking with his family, or baking with Hunk. It's a good way to bond with people while doing something that is useful and needed to be done anyway. And for a date, it's a good way to learn to be at ease with someone without having to search for what to say.

"I'm not doing the employee's job, it's gross!" She says with a mocking tone, leaning away slightly like he was the one she finds disgusting.

"Ugh, yeah, I know, I was kidding." He tells her, but he's not even convincing himself. Maybe because he doesn't want to anymore. Rachel was right, he has nothing to do with that girl.

"Anyway.. I'm gonna check if it's ready. I'll be right back."

She leaves once more, and Lance decides to do them both a favor and takes him phone out of his pocket, opening right away his last conversation, with Rachel. He simple sends her the popcorn emoji, makes sure his phone isn't in silent mode, and puts it back in his pocket, knowing his sister will know what to do.

Luxia comes back, a forced smile on her face, but Lance pretends not to notice.

"He'll be there with everything in a few moments." She explains, sitting herself back on the couch, further away from him than before.

She is about to talk when Lance's phone starts ringing. He can see on her face that she's outraged that his phone isn't in silent mode, but he can't find in himself to care about what she thinks of him anymore. He takes the phone out, to see it's Rachel, obviously.

"I'm sorry, I have to take this." He tells Luxia, standing up to move away but not enough for her not to be able to hear the conversation. It's her turn to see a show.

"Hello?" He says, neutral, not knowing what Rachel is going for yet.

"Lance! Oh thanks gods, finally! What took you so long?"

"I—"

"No, we don't have time for this! I don't care what you're doing, you need to go to the hospital right now!"

She's yelling to his ear, and Lance has to fight the need to lower the sound.

"Is everything alright?" He asks, trying his best to sound worried.

"What do you think? Your girlfriend is having your baby so just fucking hurry, Lance!"

She hangs up, and Lance does his best not to laugh at Rachel's audacity. She really must have had a terrible impression on Luxia to make him look that bad in front of her, to the point that he couldn't make up for it even if he wanted to later.

"I.. Ugh, I have to go." He announces her. He doesn't have to try too hard to look panicked, because at the look on her face, he suddenly fear for his life.

"You really are a loser. Go away." She says, a voice so cold that Lance shivers.

She doesn't have to tell him twice. He jumps on his feet, and almost runs to the door, not waiting for her to open it for him.

"It was nice meeting you, bye!" Lance says ironically before closing the door behind him. He rushs to his car, sends a quick text to his sister to thank her and let her know he's on his way, and goes away from this house as fast as he can.

 

* * *

 

Looking at himself in the mirror, Keith understands better than ever his almost brother's choice. He sees a guy who looks younger than he really is, because of a suit a bit too big for him, with his hair tied in a low ponytail, the strand of hair usually on his face pulled off to show his face. That guy doesn't look like Keith, it's like he's acting when he's him.

There's a knock on the door, and Romelle comes in as soon as she has his permission. She's wearing a pink dress, her long blonde hair dancing around her, and even Keith can tell she's beautiful. He forces a smile, wanting her to have a good time tonight, she doesn't need grumpy Keith's company.

"Are you ready? We need to go if we don't want to be late. And before you say anything: no, you don't 'don't care'. It'll be worst if you're late."

"I didn't say anything!"

He follows her outside, and after saying goodbye to Shiro and Adam, they leave, and Keith never felt more anxious in his life before. If it wasn't for Romelle, he would probably have chickened out.

 

* * *

 

Lying down on his bed, Lance listens to some music, looking for inspiration as Luxia failed to fulfill that mission. When he got back, Rachel was waiting for him, but she didn't push when he told her he didn't want to talk about it. She knew she was right, and that's enough informations for her to guess what happened. Just by seeing Lance, she guessed it wasn't a good time to say 'I told you so', and he's thankful for that.

Lost in his music, he's half asleep without even realizing it when someone suddenly shakes him to get his attention. Startled, he frenetically reaches for his headphone, putting it away while opening his eyes to see his big sister, Veronica.

"Vero, you can't just scar me like that! Is it time already?"

"Yep, mom and dad are driving me to the station, you wanna come?"

"No, I'm a bit tired and I have a class tomorrow morning so I think I'll head up to bed soon."

"Okay, goodbye then."

She leans to hug him, and he straightens up to make it easier for her. He's going to miss her, but he really doesn't feel like going out again today.

"Bye, take care!"

"You too!"

She leaves his room, and he sighs, hating to see his house getting empty. If he could have it his way, all the members of his family would live in the same place, and probably his friends too, but he can't do anything about it.

Lance lets himself drop on his bed, finding back his old position, and only then realizes his headphone is still playing his music. Not in the mood anymore, he searches for his phone to stop it, and finds out a new notifications: 'Ryan likes you back!' He can feels himself blushing at the thought of that guy looking at him and thinking he's boyfriend material.

He unlocks his phone and opens their conversation to look at the guy's picture once more. Yeah, he's kind of hot, and that is terrifying because Lance has no idea of what he's supposed to tell him. He remembers Rachel offered to help, but he doesn't want her to. Then, he sees the guy is typing, and a sudden wave of anxiety pushes him to cancel the match before the guy can send his message.

The match disappears, and a sigh of relief escapes Lance's mouth. He's not ready. Not yet. Even if he really wants to.

 

* * *

 

"Keith! There you are! Do you mind coming with me? I need to talk to you about something."

That's it. The words Keith feared to hear since he came back home earlier. When he arrived with Romelle, his mom looked almost surprised to see him, but past that first moment, she and her husband acted like everything was normal, as if nothing weird happened between them and Keith. It was too good to be true though. Keith started to believe that she hadn't seen anything, but now that his step father is in front of him, demanding to talk to him, Keith feels like his entire world is crumbling under his feet.

"Sure. Excuse me, I'll be right back." He adds for Romelle, who hadn't left his side during the party, like the angel she is. She knows he needs her support without him having to ask for it, and he is forever grateful for her.

She nods with an encouraging smile, but it doesn't quite reach her eyes. If he had the choice, she would be a part of this conversation, but he has to face the situation by himself, like a man, as they say.

Keith follows his step father until they reach the door of the library, that his step father closes behind them. Keith vaguely asks himself if the man is planning to murder him, but knows deep down it's a stupid thought only caused by the fear of what's going to happen next.

"So, Keith, I think it's time we have a talk. You're 22 now, soon you'll graduate, and it's time for you to think about your future."

Keith swallows, suddenly finding it hard to breathe. He feels like he's suffocating, but even if he's desperate for fresh air, he knows his step father wouldn't appreciate it if he opened the window. He opens his mouth to answer, but closes it when he realizes he's unable to say anything. He probably looks like a deer caught in headlights. He definitely feels like one.

His step father moves to the desk and takes a large box Keith hadn't noticed before. Bewildered, he still comes closer when his step father indicate he wants him to, to see him opening the box. Inside, a dozen of fancy rings, but even if Keith knows enough to tell they're stunning, the sight of them makes him want to throw up.

"I know you and your friend Romelle are close, and she's a fine young woman who would do great in the family. Your mother likes her and she would love to have her as her daughter in law."

Yeah, Keith is definitely going to puke.

"What? No! Romelle is not.. We're not.. I'd never.."

"Breathe, Keith. It's time for you to man up. If it's not a thing yet, then make it happens. We're ready to put a lot of money in this and you know it's your best option. Your mother would be so proud of you."

Keith wants to yell at him, to tell him to stop trying to manipulate him with his mother's affection, but he hardly can remember how to breathe, let alone how to talk. He never saw a woman as a potentiel spouse, but Romelle is already like a member of his family. The simple thought of marrying her seems like a sin to his ears.

He squeezes his fist, realizing that he really, really, really wants to punch his step father. Instead, he closes the cursed box, unable to look at the rings anymore. He can hear his step father sighing, but he can't find in himself to care. He can't make him proud, he never will.

"It's not an option, I'm sorry."

He's not.

"It doesn't have to be Romelle, you can choose the girl you want, but if you don't.. We'll talk about it again soon." His step father tells him coldly, before leaving the room.

Struggling to breathe, Keith realizes he's on the floor. He doesn't know how or when he landed there, but he can hardly see anymore. The fear of feeling like that makes it worst, and he's scared of passing out when the door opens once more.

"Keith, it's okay, I'm here."

Romelle. Keith silently thanks whatever miracle put Romelle in his life.

"I saw him leaving the room, but you weren't coming out, so I figured something happened. I decided to come for you because they're bringing the dessert and it looks so good! You'll love it. I can bring some to you if you want, I'm sure nobody will notice, and I don't want to go back on my own because there's that old man who absolutely wants to dance with me and.. I saw him crushing the feet of at least five poor girls who didn't dare say no." Romelle says calmly, knowing that talking about something else can help Keith calm down.

"Thanks, Romelle. I-I'm okay, I'll come with you, I don't want that creep to come for you again."

She smiles, holding a hand out for him. He takes it, standing up, and leaves the library with Romelle. They spend the rest of the party avoiding Keith's mom and step father, not talking about what happened but trying to have fun. He knows he'll end up telling her everything, but not tonight.

 

* * *

 

The front door slams, announcing that Rachel left the house just like everyone else, and Lance sighs. His parents aren't supposed to come home before at least an hour or two, Veronica is going back to her own home, Marco and Luis left the house years ago to build their own families, and now Rachel is gone with her new boyfriend, leaving him alone. He's happy for her, he really is, but being home alone at night is kind of depressing.

He turns the tv on, searching a few seconds for something to watch before finding a musical. It's not his favorite, but he likes it enough to stop and watch it, starting humming the songs without realizing he was doing it in the first place. Then, the happy couple kisses, and even if Lance smiles because finally!, he also feels kind of nostalgic.

His phone buzzes, and Lance feels a rush of excitement before seeing it's only an e-mail, and not even an important one. He shakes his head, tired of hoping for something good to happen to him. He looks back at the tv and feels frustrated. He wants that. He wants a cute story with a gorgeous g.. Human. Because maybe he's been staring at the guy more than at the girl. But it's not his fault if the man could pass as a god and if the girl isn't really his type.

His phone buzzes again, and he has to stop a laugh when he sees he's got a message from Luxia. Such a shame that Rachel isn't here to read that with him.

> **Luxia**  
>  _Hi. I'm sorry I got mad earlier._

Lance huffs, unable to believe his eyes. Is she serious? What is wrong with her? He deletes the match right away, not bothering to respond. Some friends of his have great stories from dating apps, but somehow, he always ends up with people who aren't for him.

He deletes few more matchs who didn't go anywhere, and decides to search for new people while watching the end of his movie. He likes a really pretty girl with red hair and a smile who have nothing to envy to the sun, refuses a dozen of people who don't even make him hesitate, then likes another girl who does a cute pout on her picture, but with a smile in her eyes.

He is getting tired of looking and is about to stop for now when he sees him. He was starting to swipe left like he does whenever he sees a guy when a feeling in his guts stopped him, making him reconsider. He's seated on what looks like a low wall, a shadow thrown on him, making him look mysterious, but showing enough to catch Lance's attention. He looks at the name: Akira, and even if he never saw anyone with that name, he likes it anyway.

He can't really see his face, hidden behind a mop of back hair, pretty long for a guy but somehow, he makes it works. He can see a bit of his eyes though, the color of a mesmerizing grey, almost purple, and Lance is pretty sure the guy used a filter. Still, he can't look away. He wants to see more of him.

He's excited when he realizes there's more pictures, but when he looks at them, at first, he's almost disappointed. Because it's only drawings. They're beautiful though, so the first feeling soon left to let his place to admiration. He's so fascinated he wants to touch them. He skims slowly around the shape of a wolf nested around a stuffed animal Lance is sure is a hippo.

Lance's heart misses a beat when the picture starts going left, and he's sure he would have delete the app and reinstalled it to search for the guy again if he hadn't managed to bring it back just in time. The panic makes him swipe right, just to be sure he wont loose him, and he sighs, relieved, before he realizes what he just did.

He waits, too long, and when his screen puts himself on standby, he has to admit the guy didn't like him back. Deception strikes him, because now, he can't even look at the pictures anymore.

The girl on tv starts singing again, and Lance shuts down the tv, not in the mood for that. He lets himself fall, lying on the couch, and ends up falling asleep a few minutes later.

 

* * *

 

When the last guests leave the house, it's the middle of the night and Keith already knows he's going to look like a mess in the morning, when he'll have to go to class. He doesn't want to sleep just now though, still too agitated by the party and his conversation with his step father to get to sleep.

So instead, he starts drawing, choosing a desert as his subject. Just a simple landscape, opposite to what he feels inside, but little by little, Keith relaxes, feeling better while he does one of the things he likes the most.

When he finishes, an hour has passed, and tiredness starts to get a hold on him. He checks his phone for the time, but a message catch his attention.

> **Shiro**  
>  _How did it go? Do you need me to pick you up?_
> 
> **Keith**  
>  _Okay i guess. I'll manage, thanks tho._
> 
> **Shiro**  
>  _Okay, don't hesitate if you need anything or want to talk._
> 
> **Keith**  
>  _Maybe we could have lunch tomorrow?_
> 
> **Shiro**  
>  _Sure, I'll come at noon._
> 
> **Keith**  
>  _Thanks. See you then._

He exits his messaging app, but doesn't feel like sleeping just yet, so he goes on his dating app, knowing deep down that Rolo will never be able to give him what he needs. He's a great friend, but he doesn't feel with him what he knows love is supposed to feel like.

Keith passes a dozen of guys, not one catching his attention. A few of them are hot, but they don't feel right when Keith looks at them. He doesn't feel the need to talk to them, to get to know them. He can tell by their profils that most of them are just there for sex, and others just post a picture and a name, so how is Keith supposed to find out what to tell them if they match? He doesn't like going blind in a conversation, he at least needs to know something.

He is about ready to go to sleep when he stops on a guy who looks vaguely familiar to Keith. He's tan, with short, brown hair, and blue eyes like the ocean. He has one of these smile who's contagious, and with the sun on his face, Keith is pretty sure he has slight freckles.

He looks through the other pictures, where he's sometimes with other people, sometimes alone. In one of them, he's playing the guitar with that soft smile that people have when they're doing something they love, and Keith catchs himself smiling too.

The guy's name is said to be Lance, and in his description, it says "Just a boy from Cuba who makes great coffee. Yes I play the guitar. I also write songs and sing them so maybe one day you'll hear me on the radio. If we're both lucky, perhaps they'll be about you ;)"

Keith snorts. Okay, cute boy is a bit of a dork, but somehow, Keith finds it cute. And maybe, he'd like to know more about him and hear him sing. He hesitates just a few more seconds before swiping right, and definitely smiles when a message announcing it's a match appears on his screen.

He opens their new conversation, searching for something to tell him to start a conversation, because it's the last one to like the other who has to send the first message, right? He takes a deep breath and starts typing.

> **Akira**  
>  _Hi. Did you know your freckles can draw the scorpius constellation?_

He sends his message with shaking hands before he can chicken out. Is this a weird thing to say? Does that looks creepy? Or does that makes him look like a nerd? Exhausted, Keith turns his phone off, knowing that the guy is probably sleeping anyway, and decides to try and do the same.

He falls asleep hoping he'll have interesting things to tell Shiro during their lunch.


	2. Dying in a Shell

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't own the song nor the lyrics used at the end of the chapter. The song is As You Are — Daughtry, for those interested by listening to it when it starts in the chapter!

When Lance wakes up to the sound of his official favorite song, he realizes he made a terrible mistake when he chose that as his alarm, because he now hates it. He'll never understand why classes have to start so early in the morning, as if anyone is able to concentrate on anything at this ungodly hour. He groans and turns it off, ready to go back to sleep when he hears a knock on his door. As an answer, he moans.

"Lance, are you awake? Is Hunk picking you up?" He hears he mom's voice across the wall, muffled, but still too loud for him.

"Yeah, yeah." He says, not lying because he does is awake, but still feeling like it's not what is mother has in mind with her question.

He buries his head in his pillow, ready to fall back asleep when the door opens. A few seconds after, he feels his pillow sliding under his head, which hits his mattress harshly. Then, the pillow comes back just to strike him on the arm and back, not strongly, but enough to tear him off his sleep. He opens his eyes, turning to his mother as she's about to give him another thump.

"Hey! Stop! You won, I'm getting up!" He pleads, putting his hand in front of him to protect himself.

His mother lets the pillow fall back on the bed and leaves the room. He sighs, hearing her doing the same in Rachel's room while he shakes his head in an attempt to wake himself up.

He takes his phone to look at his notifications for a bit before getting ready for the day, and the fog in his sleepy brain leaves completely when he reads "Akira likes you back and sent you a message!". His hearts skips a beat and he panics, cursing himself for not looking at his phone before bed last night. Maybe the guy wouldn't want to talk to him after he took hours to answer him, as if he didn't care?

Lance checks from when the notification is, and he breathes a sigh of relief when he sees it's only been three hours. The guy sent his message in the middle of the night, he couldn't expect from Lance to answer right away. It was okay, he didn't mess things up yet. A lot is in the first impression on this app.

He unlocks his phone and goes straight to the dating app. He smiles a bit when he sees that the conversation is really here, and he's thankful that Akira sent the first message. He doesn't think he would have been brave enough to do it, even if he does it all the time with the ladies.

> **Akira**   
>  _Hi. Did you know your freckles can draw the scorpius constellation?_

A silent laugh escapes Lance's mouth as he reads the message. He found the guy impressive last night, but while reading this, he felt his stress going down. He's just another guy, just like Lance, looking for the right someone, not some kind of superman Lance could never even dream of being good enough for, and suddenly, Lance wants to know him even more.

Before answering though, he taps on his tiny photo to see it bigger, and to look at the drawings again, the ones he didn't get to see the day before when he panicked, and his pulse races when he sees a starry sky, some brighter than other, forming a constellation. Wanting to check an intuition, he exits the app to search on google what the scorpius constellation looks like, and smiles when he sees he's right. Then, he goes back on the dating app, and types his answer.

> **Lance**   
>  _Good morning, even if I guess you're a night owl, according to the time you sent your message. I.. didn't, actually, for the freckles, I don't know a lot about constellations, maybe you can show me some one day._

He had put a winking emoji, but deletes it, because it doesn't feel right in this conversation. For once, Lance doesn't want to be too much into flirting, because Akira's the first guy he ever hit on, and that he doesn't want to go too fast. Maybe implying something about meeting up isn't a great idea, then?

"Lance, are you kidding me? You're still in bed?! If mom sees you you're so dead."

He jumps slightly on his bed, startled, when his sister stops in front of his open door to look at him, almost ready for the day. Lance looks at the time on his phone, and his blood runs cold when he sees it's been 10 minutes since his mom came.

"Shit! Can you cover for me?" He asks, sending the message without thinking more about it before putting his phone back on his bedside table and rushing out of bed, really, this time.

Rachel sighs.

"What else is new?" She asks, shaking her head, an amused smile on her face.

He doesn't answer. He doesn't have to.

 

* * *

 

Getting ready for his classes is hell, but it's not like Keith didn't know what he was signing for last night, so he does it without complaining, automatically. It’s only when he’s about to leave that he realizes he forgot to charge his phone, now dead, and he swears between his teeth: if he can’t find a way to charge it before noon, it’s going to be a mess to find Shiro.

He decides to walk to school, not in the mood for the bus, and his stepfather still refused to let him take one of his cars. It doesn’t bother him though, he likes his walks, it makes him feel free.

When he’s almost there, Keith wants to check the time on his phone, and groans when nothing happens, remembering that he’s already out of battery. He could be late for what he’d known. Sighing, he’s about to enter the campus when a familiar voice interrupts his thoughts.

"Hey there. I see you didn't loose your phone. I was wondering, as i was left on read."

He turns around to see Romelle, a smile on her face and a mocking tone showing him she's not really mad at him. He didn't thought she would be, but it's a relief anyway. Also, it's a luck she found him before he had to search for her across the school.

"Stop lying, I never opened the text." He says, pokerfaced.

She looks outraged by his answer, and punchs him lightly on the arm. "And what did I do to deserve the silent treatment?"

As an answer, he simply hands her his phone, which doesn't react when she tries to put it on. She sighs, as if already tired of him for the day. He knows her limits are far though.

"Did you break it? Or did you just forget to charge it?" She asks, crossing her arms to show her false disappointment.

"Second. I wouldn't bring a broken phone, pretty useless if you ask me." Keith taunts her, a slight smirk on his face.

"It's still useless like this." She gives tit for tat, because of course she would.

"Believe it or not, but I was thinking of charging it here, actually." He announces, as if he's revealing his master plan to his sworn enemy.

"Oooh, I see, because you're so smart like that, Kogane." She teases him, playing with his phone in her hands like some sort of super weapon only her knows how to use.

"Yep! So, are you gonna give it to me or do I have to beg for it?" Keith prompts her, aware that she'll know what he has in mind without him needing to say anything.

Romelle gives him a pleased smile, as if making him ask is some sort of victory. It's probably is, their friendship had always include a lot of teasing from the both of them.

"I don't know, maybe you can invite me for lunch or something." She negotiates, because why the hell not.

"Sure, but Shiro's coming at noon so.." Keith answers honestly, remembering why he's having this conversation in the first place instead of just wait to be back home tonight to charge his phone.

"Oh, I'll leave you two alone then, you can pay me back another day!" Romelle says automatically. As much as she likes annoying Keith, she'll never put herself between him and Shiro, being one of the few he really trusts, and not without reasons.

Keith is about to tell her that it's stupid, she's family almost as much as Shiro is and his older brother had known her for about as much time as Keith did, but then, he remembers what he wants to talk to Shiro about, and the words simply don't come out of his mouth.

Romelle gives him his phone and searches through her bag until she finds her tiny portable battery.

"Here you go." She hands it to him, then looks at her own phone, and her eyes widens. "You'll plug it in class if you don't want us to be late though!"

And before Keith can react, she takes his wrist in her hand, pressing him to the building where their class is apparently about to start.

 

Finally, they make it just in time, rushing inside the room right when their teacher is about to close the door. He gives Keith a moralistic look, because yeah, Keith has a nasty habit of being late a lot, but look startled when he sees Romelle with him, like it's unthinkable for her to be late. Great, now the guy is going to think Keith's a bad influence on her.

They sit in the back, and even if he knows he's tempting the devil, Keith plugs his phone in, taking his computer out while waiting for his phone to come back to life. Somehow, Romelle is already taking notes next to him, even if he has no idea what the teacher is talking about.

His phone lights up, and he types his password, waiting for it to finally deliver his messages.

> **Romelle**   
>  _Morning! Do you need a ride?_
> 
> **Keith**   
>  _Morning. No thanks._

Out of the corner of his eyes, he sees Romelle's phone vibrates, then her looking at it, then her looking at him like he's the biggest idiot she's even known, but he doesn't see her elbow coming before it's on his ribs, making him gasp in surprise. She chuckles and goes back to listening to their teacher. He sends her a death glare, and frowns when his phone buzzes.

_Lance sent you a message!_

His frown deepens because who the hell is Lance? Then, Keith realizes it's from the dating app, and vaguely remember sending a like to someone during the night, while he was half asleep and.. Maybe sending him a message? He only hopes his tiredness and blood alcohol level didn't make him say something stupid.

> **Akira**   
>  _Hi. Did you know your freckles can draw the scorpius constellation?_

Okay, it could have been worst, but Keith still blushes slightly. Normally, he started conversations with small talk, and not something like "hey I'm a nerd and stared at your face for so long I saw stars in it". Hoping he didn't scare the guy away already, he finally dares looking at the answer.

> **Lance**   
>  _Good morning, even if I guess you're a night owl, according to the time you sent your message. I.. didn't, actually, for the freckles, I don't know a lot about constellations, maybe you can show me some one day._

Keith can't help but smile, relieved.

> **Akira**   
>  _Morning! It would be my pleasure, but I don't know that much about stars tbh. A night owl that has to wake up early for class, how cruel, right?_

He's surprised, but pleased, when the answer comes almost right away.

> **Lance**   
>  _I was up two hours ago so you don't get to complain, sorry, I don't make the rules._
> 
> **Akira**   
>  _Rude! I woke up a while ago too so I'm totally in my rights to complain._
> 
> **Lance**   
>  _You can't prove it so it didn't happen._
> 
> **Akira**   
>  _It totally did, my phone was just dead, if you want to know everything._
> 
> **Lance**   
>  _I sure do ;) I already know you're a scorpio, you like wolfs, probably have a stuffed hippo, and like travelling._

Keith feels himself blushing. He didn't know he's so transparent, him who tries his best to hide his real identity online. Weirdly though, he doesn't feel threatened, as if it was okay that, for once, he lets someone get to know pieces about him.

> **Akira**   
>  _I'm impressed, but I'll have you know that the drawing isn't a wolf, it's my dog. And i can tell you're confident but not conceited. You look like you want to shine on your own but would do anything for the ones you care about. You're probably talented too, with your guitar and singing, even if I can't hear it._
> 
> **Lance**   
>  _Your dog?! But he looks so.. Wolfy? I have to admit I'm a bit impressed too, you're very good. As I got to see how talented you are with your art, maybe it's only fair I let you see how talented I am with my songs?_
> 
> **Akira**   
>  _He does, but my mom would have said no to a wolf so.. And okay, I take back what I said, you're totally conceited. But as I'm flattered by your compliment, I'll accept to listen to your songs._
> 
> **Lance**   
>  _Please tell me you didn't tell her your wolf was a dog to make her accept him. Now look who's the rude one! I don't want you to listen anymore._
> 
> **Akira**   
>  _What was that? I- I can't hear you.. ;) Do it for the views, Lance!_
> 
> **Lance**   
>  _I already hate you._

But still, he sends him a youtube link that Keith is dying to listen to. Slowly, he gets his earphones out of his bag, starting to untangle them when a hand takes them away from him. Startled, he looks at Romelle with an accusing look.

"Hey, give—" He starts, reaching for the earphones with his hand.

"I know you're not paying attention like, at all, but the earphones are too much." Romelle decides, tangling them again so they hold in her hand.

"You're not my mom." He reminds her, a bit pissed that she's taking his stuff without him doing anything to deserve it.

"Oh, you want me to ask your mom what she thinks of this? You're lucky I don't say anything about your phone." She teases, but still keep the earphones away from him, not joking around about that.

"You don't have the authority to take my phone, Elle." He answers, cradling his phone in his hands just in case she tries to prove him wrong.

"But I could take something else.." Keith follows her gaze to the externe portable battery and takes one of his hands away from the phone to grab it.

"Don't you dare or I'll tell Shiro why I couldn't find him for lunch." He threatens her, almost chocked she even think of doing something like that. He knows she's joking on that, but still.

She laughs, and he can't help but join her. It's childish, how they falsely argue all the time, but with her, he's always a child. People tend to say he's a bad influence on her, but truly, he's never like that with anyone else than her when she's capable of creating a fight with anyone in a few minutes.

"He's more scared of me than I am of him and you know it." She says, now playing with the wire of the earphones as if to remember something he could never forget.

It's true. Ever since she sneaked under a table to tie his shoelaces together, making him fall on his face in front of a lot of people — it was a dare from Keith, but Shiro can never know, and it's not his fault, he didn't think Romelle would do it —, Shiro knew not to underestimate her, and that she wasn't intimidated by him in any case. That's also why she took the blame for Keith, knowing he could bare to disappoint his big brother. Romelle is great like that.

"I'll never win against you, will I?" He asks, sighing slightly but still amused.

"Never, but I'll let you keep it against a coffee tomorrow morning." Romelle decides, even if he always brings her coffee on Tuesdays morning, because they starts really early and they are working in pair. Also she does most of the job so it's fair enough.

"Okay, even if I already paid a lunch for it!" He reminds her, no giving in that easily.

"And I still have nothing." She says like some sort of martyr, and he can't help but laugh at her dramatic expression.

"You're the worst." He says, shaking his head, amused. He puts the phone and battery back on the table, knowing that letting them in his hands was so obvious that even his teacher would be forced to tell him something at some point.

"Thanks. Now let me listen, I'll have to explain everything to you later so I need to concentrate."

And just like that, Romelle was back in the topic, listening the teacher as if her attention never left him, taking notes so fast Keith doesn't even know how it's possible. She's right, though, he always does that in class, even when he's not talking to someone else. Generally, he draws, half listening at the beginning, then totally absorbed in his art to the point he doesn't even realize the class is over. Then, before the exam, he panics and begs her to teach him everything she knows. She always does.

 

* * *

 

"Are you writing a song or actually doing school works?" Hunk's voice feels far away from him, but Lance can still hear it, even with his earphones on. He never listen to loud music when he's at the library, knowing that people not far could hear it and be bothered.

Lance puts his pen on the table, freeing his hands to take off his earphones. He smiles at Hunk, still standing up in front of him, his backpack dangling from one of his shoulders.

"Homework! Or.. librarywork, in this case? Where's Pidge?" He asks, looking around as if she would suddenly appear from behind a bookcase.

"I was about to ask you the same thing. But, ugh, in a way I'm.. Glade she's not here yet? I wanted to talk to you about something. Or.. Someone." Hunk admits, playing nervously with his hands, avoiding looking directly at Lance.

"Oooh, did you meet someone?" Now, Hunk has all Lance's attention, and he feels guilty hoping Pidge will take her time to join them. They love her, but she can be really insensitive when it comes to romantic feelings, never having experienced them herself.

"I.. Yeah, it's.. Ugh, you met her actually.." Hunk mumbles, finally taking his backpack off to let it fall on the ground. He sits next to Lance, still looking at his hands.

"You mean your new colleague, right?" So Pidge wasn't just teasing him? Interesting.

"Y.. Yep, that's her. Her name's Shay." And at the exact moment, Hunk becomes so red that Lance would have made fun of him if he didn't know the conversation was important to him.

"Oh my gods, you totally have to shoot your shot." Lance says, forcing his memory to recall him every little details of that girl that he could remember.

"But.. what if she's just nice like that to everyone and isn't interested? I don't want her to feel uncomfortable at work after that." Hunk explains, and Lance can't help but think that if that girl rejects Hunk, it's her lost. If it was him, he would be scared to be rejected, to feel bad himself, and that the atmosphere at work would suck after that. But Hunk.. No, he just cares about Shay's well being.

"Okay, Hunk, buddy, we'll work on it, you have Loverboy Lance on your side. We need to spend more time with her, we'll figure something out." He promises, excited just by the thought of romance, even if it's not for him.

He looks at Hunk, and sees his best friend's face relaxing into a smile, probably feeling better at the idea of almost having a plan, and not being the only one to know about his feelings.

"Hey boys, what's up?" Pidge asks, letting herself fall on the chair in front of Lance. She puts her bag on the table, and immediately starts using it as a pillow.

Lance exchanges a look with Hunk, silently questioning him.

"Nothing." Hunk answers, a look of guilt on his face. Hopefully, Pidge can't see it though, too busy sleeping on her bag.

"Just librarywork. You?" Lance adds, proud of his pun.

Pidge groans as an answer, and makes herself more confortable by taking Lance's scarf to add it to his pillow. He huffs, and takes his phone to check his messages. He has one from Rachel, asking him at what time he thinks coming back home, because she wants to order food as their parents won't be home tonight. He has another one from that girl he met once before realizing she looked way better in photo. And one from Akira.

His heart skips a beat because finally, after two hours, the guy answered him. Lance was afraid his "I hate you" had been taken seriously, or that he would have thought his music sucked so much he didn't even want to answer to Lance anymore. It's stupid, Lance knows he's good at what he does, but you can't please everyone, even when you're Lance.

> **Akira**   
>  _Sorry I didn't answer earlier but my friend thought it wasn't okay for me to listen to your songs in class. It's a shame tho, I'm pretty sure my classmates would have preferred that to the boring class we were in. Maybe you deserve to be a little conceited, you have a great voice._
> 
> **Lance**   
>  _Aw, thanks, you're almost making me blush, even if you're still totally rude because I'm really not conceited._
> 
> **Akira**   
>  _Believe what makes you sleep better at night!_
> 
> **Lance**   
>  _Don't worry, I have my beauty sleep every night ;) What was your class about?_

Lance's eyes are caught by Pidge finally rising again, a lost look in her eyes like she actually fell asleep right there. Lance smirks, and she sends him a death glare.

"Shut up." She says, squeezing her eyes with her fingers under her glasses.

"I didn't even say anything!" He defends himself, a laugh in his voice.

"Your face is just so expressive, Lance! Anyone who knows you well can read you like an open book." Pidge informs him, an expecting expression on her face, as if she's waiting for that information to force Lance to reveal something.

"People aren't calculations and codes you can read, Pidge, it's more complicated than that. Even Lance." Hunk intervenes, sending Lance a teasing smile.

Then, his two friends goes on a mathematical debate Lance understands nothing about, so he's trying to go back to his work when his phone buzzes once more, making something to his heart he prefers to ignore. "Florona sent you a message!" And just like that, the excitement is gone, because who the hell is that?

He unlocks his phone, and opens the profil. Okay, yeah, she's pretty, he can do with that. They texted a bit last week, but the conversation kept dying until Lance didn't know what to add anymore and gave up, thinking she wasn't interested. But if she's back, maybe it's because she was just shy or something?

> **Florona**   
>  _Hi, Lance! I was hoping you'd be free at some point this week to meet up?_
> 
> **Lance**   
>  _Hi! Sure, I can't say no to a pretty girl like you ;) Would Thursday late afternoon/night be good for you?_
> 
> **Florona**   
>  _Perfect, yeah! I'll text you later for an hour so we can see for a place._
> 
> **Lance**   
>  _Works for me!_

And just like that, she's gone once more. Yeah, she's probably a really shy girl who doesn't know what to say and prefers face to face, Lance totally gets that, he's pretty sure he was like that at some point of his life, even if he doesn't remember it. And look at Hunk: he's a great guy but is too shy to really speak and flirt with the girl he likes, maybe that Florona is just like that. Probably.

".. Lance? Earth to Lance?"

Suddenly back in the library, Lance jumps when the hand Pidge is waving right in front of his face comes too close and almost bumps into his nose.

"Yeah? What? Did you say something?" He asks, looking between her and Hunk as fast as he can to try and figure out what they were talking about when he got lost in his thoughts.

"Lunch? Are you interested in that at all or are you too busy flirting with future Mrs McClain?" She teases, and he rolls his eyes, not convinced himself that Florona could be the one yet.

"Oh, yeah, sure, let's go."

Pidge shakes her head slightly, but doesn't comment. He's thankful for that.

 

* * *

 

Nervously playing with his food, Keith can't bring himself to look at Shiro, even if he knows he didn't do anything wrong and that nobody could understand more than Shiro probably does. But still, he's terribly scared of what Shiro is going to advice him, because he knows that whatever it is, he'll listen.

"I'm going to kill him."

Wait.. What? The words hit him like a punch, not expecting that _at all_. Shiro isn't one for violence, and would never hurt anyone if he can avoid it, except if the person really went too far. Maybe Keith is so used to his stepfather's actions and words that he didn't even realize this was one of these cases. And now he feels guilty: making things worst between Shiro and his father is the last thing he wants, still hoping his family could get better with time.

"Shiro, it's okay, really, I can deal with—"

"But you shouldn't have to deal with it!" Shiro stops him, and somehow, his words make the situation worst for Keith, because if even the calm Shiro doesn't tell him everything's going to be okay, then what is he supposed to do?

"I don't really have a choice, do I? Not everyone can just.. Run away." He snaps, then immediately feels guilty. He didn't mean to say something like that, but wasn't able to hide the hurt he still feels about Shiro leaving him alone with their parents. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean that."

"Keith.. You know why I left, and you know I couldn't take you with me." Shiro reminds him calmly, a calm that is now bothering Keith. It's true, Keith wasn't an adult yet when Shiro left, so legally, he couldn't go with him, but it was painful just the same.

"It didn't make it easier. I can't do that to my mom, I actually love her." If Keith didn't mean to snap a few seconds before, now that he's mad at Shiro, he doesn't try to control it anymore.

"That's enough, Keith. The question wasn't if I love you or them, but who I wanted to be. I didn't want to hide who I am, or let him made me ashamed of that." Shiro's voice sounds almost broken, and Keith finally accept to look at him, touched by the genuine look on Shiro's face.

"So what? My only two choices are to marry a woman I could never really love and keep my family, or loosing everything be able to be myself?" Keith asks, hating how his voice is shaking like he's about to cry. He's not, he never cries.

"You don't have to make this decision today, but when you do, make sure the sacrifice you do isn't too much for you to handle. I'll be there for you whatever you decide, and even if I promised myself I would never talk to him ever again, you just have one word to say and I'll go talk to him about this." Shiro tries to advice and reassure Keith, and in his voice, Keith can hear that he would do it.

"Thanks, Shiro. Sorry I yelled at you, I just.." But he stops himself, unable to find the right words to describe what he's feeling. He doesn't want to confront the situation, preferring to bury his head in the sand until he can't anymore.

"I get it, I really do." Shiro says, smiling brightly at Keith as if he's trying to convince him everything's going to be alright. Keith doesn't believe him, but still smile back, used to pretend by now.

 

> **Lance**   
>  _Don't worry, I have my beauty sleep every night ;) What was your class about?_
> 
> **Akira**   
>  _I don't doubt you have. It was just some bullshit with too many numbers for me. My friend is the only reason I ever passed that class. I guess you're studying music or something?_
> 
> **Lance**   
>  _Yep, I thought it would be a piece of cake, as it's my passion since I was a kid, but man, theoretical knowledges are a real pain. So I take it that you're not studying art?_
> 
> **Akira**   
>  _What you just said about music study is exactly why I didn't take art. I didn't want my passion to turn into something that's a pain for me, even just in some aspects. And art is practice, sensibility, I don't think a class can teach you that._
> 
> **Lance**   
>  _I guess that makes sense. If I didn't study music in uni I would still had to learn all that shit by myself so better do it with pros, but if you can avoid it I'd say you made the right choice._

Or course, that's not entirely true, Keith would have loved to study in what he liked, just like everyone else, but his mother and stepfather were scared of that kind of studies, thinking it wasn't something in which you can work and have a confortable life. It would be risky life they didn't want for him, and at this point, Keith wasn't strong enough to resist them and fight for himself. Who is he kidding? He still isn't.

 

* * *

 

> **Lance**   
>  _Hey so, I need advices, because my brain is all mushy right now but I promised a friend I'd help so.. There's that girl he likes, they work together, and he only knows her for a few days, so he can't really ask her out because it could be awkward if she says no, but he wants to get closer to her and doesn't know how to without looking like a creep so.. Any idea?_

Lying on his stomach on the couch, Lance locks his phone, unable to look at it while waiting for an answer. Earlier, he felt like the conversation about studies made Akira uncomfortable, and when he stopped answering to Lance, he felt a weird feeling on his stomach. So he noted that studies talks were better to be avoided, and tried again.

"Lance, what do you want to order?" Rachel's voice comes from the kitchen, where they keep a box with all the prospectus they received. They only threw them away when they tried the restaurant and didn't like it.

"Yeah." He answers distractedly, not even trying to hide how much he doesn't care. He hears her sighs.

"Okay, I'll just order two of what I want." She decides, taking the phone to call. He doesn't react or answer because his own phone buzzes at the exact same moment.

> **Akira**   
>  _Well, you're free to do whatever you want with your music videos, right? You do them yourself?_

Lance frowns, not getting where Akira's going but still deciding to go with him.

> **Lance**   
>  _I.. guess? My sister is the filmmaker but we decide together of what we'll do. As long as it can be watched by a general audience we do whatever we want, yeah. Why?_
> 
> **Akira**   
>  _I saw there's a lot of girls in your videos, maybe ask your friend to play the guy for once and made him ask her to play with him? He could say you can't find anyone else and are desperate._
> 
> **Lance**   
>  _That's.. Actually a great idea, thank you so much, I might have just the song for that (because I need to be in it too, or my fans won't be happy)._
> 
> **Akira**   
>  _Glade I could help! Your fans, omg._
> 
> **Lance**   
>  _What? Don't think I can have people following and loving my music?_
> 
> **Akira**   
>  _Now that I heard a few more songs I can't say no to that._
> 
> **Lance**   
>  _Aw, you can be my n°1 fan if you want._
> 
> **Akira**   
>  _And risking being murdered by your fangirls? No thanks._
> 
> **Lance**   
>  _I'll protect you!_
> 
> **Akira**   
>  _That would be the first time I need protection. I've learn sword fighting when I was like 12._
> 
> **Lance**   
>  _Why the hell would you do that?!_
> 
> **Akira**   
>  _Why not?_
> 
> **Lance**   
>  _Because it's weird?_
> 
> **Akira**   
>  _No? It's just not common._
> 
> **Lance**   
>  _True. Then you'll protect me._
> 
> **Akira**   
>  _From what? Your fans? I thought they loved you._
> 
> **Lance**   
>  _My sister, she's coming to murder me because the food just arrived and I didn't get the money ready._
> 
> **Akira**   
>  _You're searching for it then. Why didn't you?_
> 
> **Lance**   
>  _Too busy talking to you ;)_
> 
> **Akira**   
>  _.. Okay then I can protect you. Is she older or younger than you?_
> 
> **Lance**   
>  _Twin. Why? Can you only slice people of a certain age?_
> 
> **Akira**   
>  _Nah, just curious._
> 
> **Lance**   
>  _Well then, I'll let you know I also have two brothers and another sister, all older. You?_
> 
> **Akira**   
>  _A brother, ish._
> 
> **Lance**   
>  _Ish? Like.. Half brother?_
> 
> **Akira**   
>  _No, like.. My mom married his father._
> 
> **Lance**   
>  _Oh.. Is he older than you?_
> 
> **Akira**   
>  _Yeah, he's the one who taught me to sword fight._
> 
> **Lance**   
>  _Wow, my brothers (or sisters for what it worth) would never trust me with sharp objects._
> 
> **Akira**   
>  _We train with protections, even if there's still incidents sometimes. Once, I didn't fix the protection on the blade well enough and it left during a fight. Hopefully he only got a cut on his arm and always said it looked cool. I think he says that to make me feel better tho. After that I stopped training for weeks._
> 
> **Lance**   
>  _I mean.. Cuts do can look cool, and the most important part is that he wasn't really hurt or mad at you. If you teach me someday we'll have to be super careful tho, haha._
> 
> **Akira**   
>  _Don't worry, I'm experienced enough now not to make this kind of mistake. I was just a beginner._
> 
> **Lance**   
>  _But I would be one, and I don't want to hurt you._

Is Lance still talking about sword fighting, or in general? He doesn't even know himself, but seeing Akira opening up to him and not being against teaching him something important to him makes something funny to his stomach.

"Are you planning on eating that or are you just going to be on your phone all evening?" Rachel asks, sending him a judgmental look while eating her own food.

"You already paid?" Lance says, disturbed because he didn't even see her sitting next to him.

"Yeah? He didn't give me the food for free." She answers, looking at him like she can't believe how stupid he is.

"Shit, I'll pay you back. Or pay for the two next." He promises, but she makes a sign with her hand to tell him to forget about it.

"So, who were you talking to that made you forget about food?" Rachel asks, a mischievous look in her eyes. Lance can't help but smile while taking his food.

"Someone who gave me a great idea to help Hunk getting the girl of his dreams." Lance announces, before explaining the idea to his twin, changing the subject in this way.

 

* * *

 

After talking to Lance about sword fighting, Keith feels the need to train, but as Shiro is the only one who knows how to, he can't, and frustration hits him. Yeah, he probably could send a message and ask Shiro to meet up, but after their conversation, he feels like it's not okay to do so yet.

He decides to draw instead, as it's the only activity that really cleans his mind of everything else. He turns around on his chair, searching for inspiration, and his eyes fall on Kosmo, sleeping on his bed. Soften, he smiles at him and makes his chair rolls to his bed, and pets him on the head.

"Should I draw you again? You're so cute." He whispers, leaning to be closer. Kosmo raises his head a bit, moans slightly, and goes back to sleep. Keith laughs and straightens, rolling back to his desk and starts drawing.

It's only been ten minutes when he hears his mom and stepfather starting to argue. He tries not to listen, but it's like trying not to see something that's right in front of him without being able to close his eyes.

Signing, he goes on youtube to find something, anything, that can suppress the voices and allows him to forget about everything. And naturally, the first thing youtube suggests him is the latest video of Lance Keith hasn't seen yet. He doesn't even pretend to hesitate and clicks on it.

During the day, Keith listened more than he looked, being on his tiny phone screen that didn't allowed him to see well. But now, he finds himself watching way more than listening, no wanting to put earphones on in fear of not hearing someone coming, and not wanting them to be able to hear if they went upstairs.

The first video starts with Lance playing the guitar with That Smile, the one that made Keith swipe right just one day before. That contagious smile people have when they do what they love, when they know they're good at it and enjoy it like nothing else in the world. Yeah, Keith can definitely understand his fangirls becoming crazy in the comments.

Keith finds himself going from video to video, listening to Lance's whole repertoire in an hour or two, but what feels like only minutes. Some songs are stuck into his head at the first listening, some grow on him after a few more.

He notices that most of them are love songs, and that all of these are featuring girls, rarely the same twice. Keith thinks back at what he advised Lance to do to help his friend, and he wonders if he ever used this tactic himself with some of these girls. Because yeah, Lance is probably bi, or not out, but it's okay, Keith can work with that.

In the other ones, he recognizes always the same people, probably his friends and siblings, and he wonders if one of them is the one having trouble asking out a girl. Maybe some time in the future, Keith'll see a new video with the perhaps couple-to-be. Or maybe Lance will update him in person, as he gave him the idea.

Keith laughs at himself, he's stupid to hope so much from a guy he barely knew one day.

But still, the thought of him lets him fall asleep with a smile on his face.

 

* * *

 

> **Lance**   
>  _Dude, I need another Kosmo pic._
> 
> **Akira**   
>  _Again?! It's been like three in one morning._
> 
> **Lance**   
>  _So? It's not my fault my teachers are stressing me out. Dogs are known to appease stress. Please, Kira, I need it._
> 
> **Akira**   
>  _Kira?_
> 
> **Lance**   
>  _Is it okay? I think it's cute._
> 
> **Akira**   
>  _Sure. {picture}_
> 
> **Lance**   
>  _Aaaaw, I love him so much!!!_
> 
> **Akira**   
>  _Sometimes I wonder if you're not talking to me only to have pictures of him._
> 
> **Lance**   
>  _I mean.. I also hope to meet him some day._
> 
> **Akira**   
>  _Oh, okay._
> 
> **Lance**   
>  _Kidding! He's only a plus, you're the real one who's interesting me._
> 
> **Akira**   
>  _O-oh._
> 
> **Lance**   
>  _Did I break you?_
> 
> **Akira**   
>  _{picture}_
> 
> **Lance**   
>  _Akira!_

Lance shakes his head, smiling, even if he knows he probably won't have any new message for a bit, like always when he says something like that. It's not his fault, he doesn't even do half the flirting he usually do, but Akira seems to freak out every time he tries, and it's weirdly reassuring for Lance. Like that, he feels like he's in control, that things between then can go at the speed he wants.

"So, the song's gonna be about a new love, right? Like.. You're not getting her back at the end, huh?" Hunks asks him, looking stressed, but not for the same reason than Lance, the logical one, being their teacher explaining their project for the finals. Hunk isn't a music student, but Lance takes a cooking class because he always liked cooking, so they have this class together.

"Hunk, dude, this song is going to be perfect. When I started writing it, I wasn't sure where I was going, but after our conversation.. Man, my inspiration is totally back and it's gonna be awesome. But yeah, you get the girl in the end." He says, sure of himself and his future song. He never did a song he didn't like, so when it eventually goes out, he's gonna love it, obviously.

"And the ladies will take pity of you and want to confort you, right?" Hunk teases him, reassured.

"Yeah, that too." Lance answers, suddenly uncomfortable. He hates lying to Hunk, especially after Hunk confided in him about his crush. Well, not really lying, but not telling him about Akira when Hunk would already knows everything if he was a girl feels wrong.

Lance does want to talk about him, gods, he didn't have that kind of easy conversations with anyone since.. Nah, he's not going to think about her when he's in a good mood.

"Are you okay?" Hunk asks, a concerned look on his face that Lance immediately feels guilty about.

"Yep, just stressed by the project." He lies, really, this time, and doesn't feel better about that.

"Don't worry, you're teamed up with the best student." Hunks rarely shows off, but he's realistic enough to know the truth about his cooking skills. At least, Lance doesn't worry about that.

 

* * *

 

He barely enters in the house when he hears his mom's voice calling for him. He feels the usual knot in his stomach at the thought of talking to her, but still goes to the dining room where she stands next to their big table. He can't help but notice the table is set.

"I can go to Romelle's place if you're having guests. Or somewhere else." Keith immediately says, hoping against all hopes that she's going to agree. By 'somewhere else', he means Shiro's place, but when his mom makes a face, Keith understands she probably thinks he's talking about Rolo's, and wishes the ground could open under his feet and swallow him whole.

"No, it's just family. Or.. Extended family, I guess. But Romelle can come, there's always room for her and you know that, especially if you want to start introducing her as your partner." At this, Keith has no idea what his face may looks like, but it must be pretty obvious he stopped breathing because his mom starts speaking again. "Oh, yeah, your stepdad told me about your conversation, I'm so glade you're becoming such a great man. Your dad would be so proud, he'd love Romelle."

She smiles that bright smile that could lighten the whole world, and Keith feels the need to throw up. He doesn't know what his stepfather told him mom, he doesn't want to know, what he imagines is already awful enough.

"I.. I have to go." He mumbles, leaving the room as fast as he can without running or looking weirder. At least, he hopes so.

It's only when he's locked in the confort of his room that he crumbles on the ground. He lets his backpack fall next to him, and grips his knees tight against his chest, trying his best to just remember how to _breathe_.

He feels his phone vibrate in his pocket, but ignores it, unable to more. Then, what seems like only seconds later, but also hours in the meantime, it buzzes again, and slowly, Keith forces himself to untangled his arms, letting go of his knees to simply be seated on the ground.

He sighs, and takes his phone, extracting it from his pocket. The first message is an audio file from Lance, and even if Keith thought he was unable to feel anything anymore, a weird feeling in his stomach proves him otherwise. The second one is a text message.

> **Lance**   
>  _Please I need an opinion. Normally I'd send it to Hunk but it's for the getting him together with Shay mission so I need another ally and as you're the one who came up with the idea, I decided it'd be you, congrats!_

A shy smile wants to make its way on Keith's lips, but he makes it go away quickly, filled with guilt at the thought of his mom, so happy thinking he's into Romelle. Just like that, the anxiety he didn't realize wasn't as present anymore comes back stronger than ever.

"Scew this." He murmurs, pressing play to hear what he guesses is a piece of Lance's new song.

It's only guitar and humming, but Keith feels like it's entering directly inside his heart, appeasing him. He closes his eyes, going deeper into the soft feeling before it suddenly stops with the song. He groans, annoyed there isn't more to it, and plays it again, and again, until he feels a bit better. The hurt feeling is still there, but now, he feels like he'll be able to function almost like a normal human being.

> **Akira**   
>  _I don't have words. Except that I want more. And that I'm flattered I'm the first one hearing this. If Shay doesn't fall for him while playing his girlfriend on that song, nothing will work._

He says honestly, because he's too tired to have a filter. It's the truth, anyway. Anyone would fall for.. Oh no. No no no. He's not.. No, he can't be, it's too soon, he doesn't really know the guy yet, haven't even meet him, just texts, he can't.. He just like the song, that's all.

 

* * *

 

> **Lance**   
>  _Thanks, man, anything for my n°1 fan ;) My twin/director approuves so when the lyrics are done it's a go!_

He updates Akira like he said he would, happy he has a new person to talk to about his music that hasn't known him for years and doesn't feel like they have to say it's good. Lance knows it's good, of course, but hearing it from others always feels great.

Seated on his desk chair while Rachel is on his bed, they wait for Hunk to log into skype for their secret meeting about The Plan.

"Is he almost there yet?" She asks when Lance puts his phone down on his desk.

"I guess." He answers, because they said 6pm and that it's two passed 6.

"Weren't you texting him like.. two seconds ago?" She says, rolling her eyes.

"No? I was just.. Asking someone if they liked the song's first draft." He tells her the truth, because he's too taken aback by her questions to come up with a good lie.

"Oooh, the same girl who gave you the idea, I suppose?" Rachel teases him, making him feels extremely uncomfortable because why would everyone assume it was a girl when he's finally talking to another guy?

Fortunately for him, Hunk starts the call at the exact same time, allowing Lance to avoid answering to Rachel.

"This talk isn't over." She says anyway. "Hi, Hunk!"

"Hi, Rachel, hi, Lance." He answers, looking anxious but excited.

"Hey, buddy. So I finished a first draft but not the lyrics. It should be done for this weekend though so we can record the song then and the video the weekend after that. You think you can make her agrees by then?" He explains, probably almost as excited as Hunk is. It's not his fault, love does that to him, it's a shame he never found the one despite his endless romanticism.

"I.. Yeah, I think it could work. I showed her some of your songs earlier during a break and she liked them." Hunk announces with a soft smile, as if just thinking about her makes him happy.

"That's my Hunk, laying the groundwork like the great man he is!" Lance encourages him, knowing his best friend isn't confident.

"I try my best, I won't let you do all the hard work. We're still going at the mall on Friday, right? I guess we'll have to tell Pidge by then." Hunk plays with his fingers, and Lance knows what he's fearing: after hiding this from their friend, she could be mad or something, even if it's not like her to react like that.

"You'd have to tell her at some point anyway, because she's the best assistant I ever had so I'm not filming this without her." Rachel intervenes, straightening from the bed and showing like that that she wanted to get to the heart of the matter.

"Oh, yeah, true, I trust her, I just.." Hunk stops, looking at Lance as if silently asking him for his help.

"If she makes fun of you I'll give her hell, don't worry." Lance reassures him, and Hunk smiles at him.

"Great, because we'll need to organise and fast. Lance wants to do that outside but in this period of the year, we can't know what the weather will look like then." Rachel explains, not bothering to give her point of view, it's showing enough already.

"I.. Guess it's best if it's not raining or super cold because if she gets sick because of me—" Hunk starts mumbling, but Lance stops him.

"No, no, no, don't think about it like that, bro! Think.. Giving her your jacket so she's not cold, or your scarf, and then she nests her nose in it: it would be super cute. Or taking off your jacket to shelter her from the rain, or taking her hand to run away from the rain and taking shelter in a coffee shop, where you'd both cuddle on a seat to warn each other up." Lance rambles, seeing it in his head and wishing it could be him with someone he likes.

"Then _he_ 'll definitely get sick." Rachel says, spoiling everything.

"Maybe we could do a bit of both depending of the weather?" Hunk offers, too nice to choose between the twins's ideas.

"I guess it could work. We'd need more preparation but—"

"I'll buy you coffee until then!" Hunk cuts Rachel, sounding desperate.

"You got yourself a deal." She sighs, and Lance knows it's more because she's unable to resist Hunk's puppy eyes than for the coffee.

 

* * *

 

Seated between Allura and Lotor, Keith is under the impression that the tension is actually going to crush him. The two of them had been dancing around each other for as long as Keith can remember, but never able to finally shoot their shot. They almost had, at some point, but then the story with Shiro happened, he left, and when Lotor could have comfort Allura - Shiro and she were best friends -, he had pretty nasty words against him, making Allura so furious at him that she slapped him. Now they are back playing cat and mouse, and Keith is just so tired about this.

Lotor is some distant cousin of him, Lotor's dad being a cousin of his mom. They were close when they were younger, but most of the time now, Keith feels like they're still seeing each other more by habit than because they want it. His best friend was Allura's father, and their wives got along, so they just all hanged out together. Then, when Keith's dad died, his stepfather took his place in the group.

They wanted their kids to grow up together and be friends like they were, but if it worked just fine at first, it appears now that they were facing the same fate at their parents before them.

"Why isn't Romelle here? At least there would be someone interesting to talk to." Allura asks him, but Keith feels like she's more looking at Lotor than him, speaking only to flex on him like they both always do.

"Thanks, Allura, I appreciate the compliment. Now if you'll excuse me, I'll leave you two alone. You deserve each other." Keith snaps, sending a death glare to the both of them before standing up to search for another spot in the room he could be - hopefully - alone in.

"Hey! I didn't even say anything." He hears Lotor says behind him, and truth be told, he didn't, today, at least.

"You said enough in the past." Allura speaks his mind, and Keith can help but forgive her just a bit for what she said to him. Of course, he knows it wasn't against him, but when he's in a bad mood, the tiniest thing can make him snap.

Keith takes a few steps away anyway, but when his eyes meet Honerva's, ready to talk to him, he admits defeat and lets Allura catches up on him.

"Keith! I'm so sorry, I didn't mean it like that, I just—" She starts apologizing, but he realizes he doesn't want to hear it anymore. He gets it, he really does.

"It's okay, Allura. But maybe it's time you two finally talk." He tells her, even if he's sure she'll reject his advice before even consider it, because she's still hurt. It's exactly what makes Keith think they should talk, because if she's hurt, it means she still cares, but if would be hypocritical from him to judge her.

"Maybe in a million years when I'm done being pissed." She answers, a small smile on her face, and Keith can't help but smile back.

 

> **Lance**  
>  _{audio file}_  
>  _What do you think?_  
>  _Akiraaa please don't be asleep you night owl._  
>  _My sister told me it was good but I won't believe it until I hear it from you (not that you_ have _to tell me it's good, I want your true opinion, but you know what I mean)._
> 
> **Akira**   
>  _It's good._
> 
> **Lance**   
>  _Oh, okay, thanks. Are you okay?_

When his phone vibrated, Keith discreetly looked at the notification and left the room when he saw it was another file from Lance. He decided to go outside not to be bothered and not to risk anyone hearing, and it's where he still is, questioning what he should answer to that.

A part of him wants to be honest and confides in Lance, because sometimes, it's easier to speak to people you don't know well, and weirdly, he feels like he can trust him. But another part of him just wants to push him away before he can hurt him like others did.

To avoid having to make a decision for a few more moments, Keith plays the song another time, loosing himself in the tune, closing his eyes while holding his phone near.

"It sounds good."

Keith jumps, his phone slipping from his hand and crashing to the ground.

"Shit." He mumbles, kneeling to catch his phone and turns the music off.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scar you!" Allura panics a little, but Keith is released it's only her, and not anyone else who's in the house right know.

"It's okay, you just surprised me." He reassures her, standing back up to offer her a shy smile. He doesn't know how to be with Allura anymore. When Shiro was still there, he was the bond between the two of them. Now, it was like there was an invisible border just there, preventing them to be confortable like before.

"I'm sorry I followed you but.. Are you okay, Keith?" She asks, and all Keith can think about is Lance, asking him the exact same question, and being left on read because Keith is too scared to open up.

"Yeah, everything's fine, I just needed a break. I don't even get why they still gather when most of them seem to hate each other, that's stupid." He finally says, not wanting to lie completely, but unable to tell the truth. It would be too risky.

"They're family, even if they have their differences, they still care about each other." Allura smiles saying that, only seeing the beauty of things.

"But yet when you're too different, they kick you out and let you handle things on your own." He snaps, pissed at all of them. The word barely left him mouth when anger is replaced by dread, because he wasn't careful enough and went too close to actually tell her what he's mad about.

"You're still mad at them about Shiro, aren't you? How is he doing?" She asks, a pained look in her eyes.

"He's good now, I think he's happy." He hopes so, but never dared to ask.

"Good. We should meet up sometime, just the three of us, like the good old days." She offers, and he nods slightly, a small smile on his lips, not reaching his eyes but still there.

Understanding the conversation is over for now and that he wants to be alone a bit longer, she leaves, going back inside. He sighs and lets himself fall against the wall of the house. Weirdly, he kind of feel better. He looks at his phone, which announces him new messages.

> **Lance**   
>  _Hey, you're worrying me, so just know that I'm here if you need anything._   
>  _I can call you or something if you can't / don't want to type for some reason._

While reading these, Keith feels a strange feeling in his chest, and when a smile forces its way into his lips, he realizes it's hope, or some form of happiness knowing he's not alone, that someone actually cares. And it's stupid because he _knows_ Shiro, Romelle and Allura care too, but somehow, this is different. This _feels_ different.

> **Akira**   
>  _I think I'd like that._

As soon as the message is sent, his heart misses a beat because _holy shit_ Lance is going to call, and he's going to actually talk to him with his voice, but right now, Keith doesn't trust his voice _at all_ , and maybe Lance will think he's awkward or something, or perhaps it'll just be weird between them and they'll loose their easy conversations because that was just in writing, and..

Suddenly, his phone is actually ringing, and a thousand others reasons why this shouldn't happen come to Keith's mind. Anyone could come after him, he's been gone for quite some times now. Maybe Allura will try to convince them to leave him alone, but maybe she won't, or they'll not listen. But even if there's all these reason why the shouldn't happen, it still feel _right_. And maybe Keith's scared, but he's also excited. So before the call ends, he taps the green tiny phone and picks up the call.

"H-hello?" He starts, and he hates how his voice is slightly shaking.

"Hi! Can I.. Do something to help? Anything, really." And the voice that's answering to him feels familiar, warm, like a hot chocolate in the middle of winter. Of course, he heard it before in the video, but it sounds different, more personal.

"Could you.. Maybe.. Sing something for me?" He asks, and immediately close his eyes, cursing himself for saying something like that. Is it weird? Is Lance going to be annoyed?

"Sure. Just wait a second, I need to take my guitar.. Alright, lucky I almost never put it in its case.. Don't judge." Lance says, laughing, and Keith can't help but join. "Okay, here we go."

He starts playing the guitar, a slow melody that seems to go straight into Keith's heart, and he closes his eyes, forgetting where he is, who's in the house.. Forgetting everything that isn't Lance.

_"You're feeling isolate, and all kinds of frustrate, but I love you as you are, love you as you are, yeah. And don't worry about the hate, it don't fit in those boxes they create, and it's tearing you apart, it's tearing you apart, yeah. And when you build those walls to keep you safe, it's like a prison you can't escape, you tear them down, you just might hear me say.. I love you as you are.."_

And while he listens to Lance's soft voice, Keith feels his heart going crazy, and tears slowly escaping his eyes, which doesn't make sense because he never cries, but the words Lance is saying.. They're just.. Exactly what he's feeling. And the words of love, of acceptance, they're like the hug he desperately needs but would never dare ask for.

_"You can come out of the shadows, they only scared of what they don't know, but I love you as you are, love you as you are, yeah. You waged this war within yourself, wasting time dying in a shell, they don't define you, just know they never will."_

Keith brings his hand to his mouth to prevent his sobbing to be too loud. He doubts Lance could here with the sound of his guitar and his singing, but the people in his house might if they get too close.

But when the song comes to its end, Keith realizes the feeling that tighten his chest isn't despair anymore. It feels good, like a band-aid being placed on a cut he didn't realize was here before it finally starts healing.

_"I love you as you are, yeah. When the whole damn world don't know what they got 'til it's gone.. I'll love you as you are."_

And just like that, Lance's voice is gone. A few seconds later, the melody is too, and Keith hurriedly wipes the tears from his eyes and cheeks, as if them being erased could prevent his voice to be the mess it'll probably be.

"So.. How was that? Did it help? I wasn't sure if I should.. But it's like, my comfort song, it makes me feels better when I'm sad so I figured it could works for you?" Lance sounds unsure, like he fears his song might have made things worst.

"It.. It really did, actually. Is it new, though? I don't think it's on your youtube channel." Keith asks, just realizing that he never heard it, even though he went through all of Lance's song.

"Aw, you already know all my songs? You really are my n°1 fan, aren't you?" Lance teases him, but his voice isn't quite there yet, as if he's trying to lighten the mood but isn't sure it's what Keith wants.

"Yeah, people always tell me I have terrible taste." He teases back, a shy laugh escaping his mouth before he can realize it's there.

"First of all: rude. Secondly: you won't say that when I'll be on the radio." He says jokingly, then becomes more serious. "And thirdly: no, it's not new, but it's not on the channel either. I wrote it when I realize I was bi and struggled with the whole accepting it and telling my friends and family things, but I figured it could works with other problems too."

"It did. I should probably go back, though. They'll come looking for me if I don't." Keith announces regretfully, straightening up to look through the window if someone was coming. Hopefully, no one was yet.

"Oh, okay. You're safe with them, right?" Lance asks, and Keith feels a wave of affection for this guy who cares so much when he's not sure he deserves it.

"Yeah, it's all good. Thanks, Lance, goodnight." His voice is almost a whisper now, drained by the emotion, and he's not sure he could keep up with a conversation if he had more time.

"You're welcome, take care. Goodnight, Akira." And this name, the name he used for so long it almost became as natural for him as his real name, feels wrong on Lance's lips. It's the materialization of his lie from the mouth that's only been truthful with him.

"Keith. It.. It's Keith, not Akira." He murmurs, then hangs out.


End file.
